Flexible tubing is used in a variety of industries and household products. In particular, flexible tubing is often used in healthcare products, such as catheters and other medical tubing. In addition, flexible tubing is used in household products such as hydration products, including portable water containers. However, conventional tubing for such applications is made using plasticized polyvinyl chloride, which represents environmental and health hazards.
Polyvinyl chloride based products have been used widely in medical fields for healthcare products such as films, gloves, bags, catheters and tubing. In particular, most of the disposable medical devices are produced from plasticized flexible PVC. However, such PVC products are hazardous to both the environment and personal health. Incineration of PVC containing medical waste results in the release of hydrochloric acid and PVC is viewed as a major contributor to HCL in incinerator flue gases. In addition, PVC may also contribute to polychlorinated dibenzodioxin and furan toxins formed during incineration. Levels of these toxins have been found up to three times greater in medical infectious waste compared to municipal waste streams.
In addition to incineration concerns, the problem of elusion of plasticizers into blood, medical solutions or foods when products made of flexible PVC tubing are being used is considered a potential health hazard. To form flexible PVC products, manufacturers typically use plasticizers or processing aids. In particular, exposure to processing aids or plasticizers, such as di-2-ethylhexylphthalate (DEHP), represent a number of health related concerns. In particular, DEHP is suspected of reducing blood platelet efficacy and is suspected of reproductive toxicity, especially to the reproduction system of young males. Since conventional tubing uses a PVC-based flexible composition and such tubing is commonly used to transfer or handle fluids of medicines, foods and beverages, any eluted processing aids or plasticizers can end up in the body of consumers and thus increase their risk of exposure to toxic plasticizers.
Accordingly, flexible tubing that reduces the environmental and health concerns associated with PVC-based flexible compositions would be desirable.
The use of the same reference symbols in different drawings indicates similar or identical items.